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gjmaupin's review against another edition
3.0
Pinyan! Wade-Giles! Choose a single form of transliteration! Narrating nightmare. But good book nonetheless.
shaunireads1's review against another edition
3.0
I struggled a bit to get through this book. That could be because fact crime is not my usual genre, but I really feel that this story would have made a better newspaper article than a book.
stevienlcf's review against another edition
3.0
French opens his tale with the exotic rickshaw pullers and gentlemen who walk their birds along Peking's ancient walls and stumble upon the mutiliated body of a foreign woman at the base of the Fox Tower, a 500 year old watch tower on the city wall that many residents believed was haunted by sinister "fox spirits." The brutally murdered woman is identified as Pamela Werner, the 19 year old adopted daughter of an elderly retired British counsel and scholar who had lived in Peking since the 1880s and whose combative personality had alienated many of his former colleagues. To appease the privileged foreigners who resided in the Legation Quarters, a gated and guarded minature Europe, a former Scotland Yard detective, Richard Dennis, is dispatched to Peking to assist the local detective, Colonel Han Shih-Ching, in investigating the crime. Dennis is hampered by official orders to confine his investigation to the Legation Quarters, and Han, who is either inept or complicit in a cover-up, are unable to resolve the crime. With the looming Japanese occupation of Peking, many wealthy foreigners fleed the city, and the murder investigation is closed with the crime remaining unsolved. Pamela's grief-stricken father then uses his own resources to conduct his own investigation, and what he uncovered was far worse, far more evil, than anything Peking's detectives could have imagined.
French is a knowledgable tour guide who ably evokes the sights and sounds of old Peking. He takes the reader on an odyssey that ranges from posh clubs and embassies to the brothels and drug dens on the fringe of the Legation Quarter. But, French is no Erik Larsen or John Berendt, and the story lacks a compelling punch.
French is a knowledgable tour guide who ably evokes the sights and sounds of old Peking. He takes the reader on an odyssey that ranges from posh clubs and embassies to the brothels and drug dens on the fringe of the Legation Quarter. But, French is no Erik Larsen or John Berendt, and the story lacks a compelling punch.
meg_ray's review against another edition
3.0
I really enjoyed learning about old Peking when reading this book. It was something I can never read about before and the book gave me lots of detail, especially with the complicated politics of the time!
I liked how the book was set out. The first half was about Pamela's murder and the following investigation with DCI Dennis. As a reader I agreed with all mostly all the conclusions DCI Dennis drew, however there were some parts I felt should have been investigated further. We also learnt a little bit more about Pamela and Werner, her father.
The second half was the investigation that Werner carried out himself. However he was paying witnesses to give their stories, so not 100% credible, so by the end it did leave me wondering who did kill Pamela and why.
Very enjoyable read, though I didn't feel gripped by the book as a whole.
I liked how the book was set out. The first half was about Pamela's murder and the following investigation with DCI Dennis. As a reader I agreed with all mostly all the conclusions DCI Dennis drew, however there were some parts I felt should have been investigated further. We also learnt a little bit more about Pamela and Werner, her father.
The second half was the investigation that Werner carried out himself. However he was paying witnesses to give their stories, so not 100% credible, so by the end it did leave me wondering who did kill Pamela and why.
Very enjoyable read, though I didn't feel gripped by the book as a whole.
nadia's review against another edition
dark
informative
mysterious
slow-paced
3.5
I found the setting of this story, and this history around it, fascinating but I struggled to stay engaged with this audiobook — it might have been the narrator's voice... I also struggled to keep track of the cast of characters/different factions, which is not really a fault of the author, and Paul French did do a decent job of trying to remind you of who everyone was. I felt the book picked up steam a lot more once Werner started his own private investigation into his daughter's murder , but I still found myself drifting in and out of focus.
Also, I knew nothing about this case going in...so I'm not sure how I feel about how Paul French approached the final sections of his book...
Also, I knew nothing about this case going in...so I'm not sure how I feel about how Paul French approached the final sections of his book...
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Blood, Child death, Death, Gore, Murder, War, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Grief and Torture
sophiaxlm's review against another edition
4.0
节奏感很好的真实罪案/历史小说，一种在三十年代风雨飘摇的北平追踪一个“开膛手杰克”般的人物的感觉。悬案发生在1937年日本全面侵华前夕的北平，前英国外交官的女儿被人开膛破肚弃尸在“狐狸门”外，和预期中一样，这宗案子吸引了大众20天眼球之后就在层层阻碍下不了了之了。受害者年迈的父亲自然不肯被这样打发了，于是靠着雇来的私家侦探和他自己的人脉，他在沦陷的北平里四处打探，从黄包车夫问到性别成谜的白俄混混，终于拼出了合理但可能永远无法被证实的真相。除了案件本身，以西方人的视角描绘的历史人物和场景也挺有新鲜感。